1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to telecommunications and, in particular, to call party identification. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to time based regulation of access to callees.
2. Description of the Related Art
Telephone service has created communication channels worldwide, and those channels continue to expand with the advent of cellular and other wireless services. A person can simply take a telephone off-hook and dial a destination number or press a send button and be connected to a telephone line around the world.
However, the ring or buzz of a telephone is often an unwanted intrusion. Most widely recognized, calls from telemarketers are often an unwanted intrusion at any time of the day.
Some calls are only an unwanted intrusion depending on the schedule of the person interrupted by the telephone ring. For example, calls from a family member to chat during a busy work day may unwanted, but during an evening break may be appreciated.
Caller ID is often subscribed to by telephone subscribers who wish to screen calls. Caller ID includes the line number from which a call is placed and may also indicate the name of the line subscriber associated with the line.
However, caller ID is limited in many contexts. First, caller ID only identifies the line subscriber to a telephone line and not the identity of the person actually placing the call. Second, a telephone subscriber may block caller ID from being transferred to the recipient of a call. Third, even though the recipient may screen who is calling, the phone number dialed still rings, causing an intrusion into the home.
Another service allows a telephone subscriber to block calls received from certain caller IDs. However, blocking calls according to caller ID only blocks a particular phone line and does not block a caller from utilizing an alternate phone line to place a call. In addition, blocking calls according to caller ID is not schedule dependent.
Therefore in view of the foregoing, it would be advantageous to provide a method, system, and program for controlling access to a destination line according to the identity of the person placing a call. In addition, it would be advantageous to provide a method, system, and program for controlling access for particular callers to a destination line according to the schedule of the attempted callee.